X84 SNAKES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



no loreal;* no internasals; pr^ocular present or absent; no tem- 

 porals, the parietals in contact with the labials. Body cylin- 

 drical; scales smooth, without apical pits, m 13 rows; yentials 

 roiuukd Tail short; subcaudals in two rows." {Boulengev.) 

 This genus is widely distributed and consists of numerous 

 species, most of which are local and variable. The snakes are 

 small, never or very rarely attaining half a meter m ength, 

 most of the species being less than a third of a meter m length. 

 The species are without grooved fangs, and are harmless. 



Key to the Philippine species of Calamaria Boie.-f 

 a' Mental in contact with anterior chin shields; no loreal. 

 'W Frontal less than twice as broad as supraocular; young, reddish 

 white with black rings; adults, black above, barred with alternate 



bands of black and white below C. grayi Gunther (p. 184K 



6= Frontal almost twice as broad as supraocular; rostral as deep aa 

 broad- frontal nearly as long as parietals; young, light brown 

 above, barred with darker brown; only a few anterior bars m 



adults; uniform yellowish below C. bitorques Peters (p- 185). 



b' Rostral as deep as broad; frontal shorter than parietals. 

 c\ Tail length in total length fourteen to twenty times, brown above, 

 with several fine light streaks on each side; yellow or barred 

 black and yellow below. 



C. gervaisii Dumeril and Bibron (p. 186). 

 c^ Tail length in total length nine and one-half times; brown with a 

 row of white dots on sides, on outer scale row. 



C. snhiensis sp. nov (p. 189). 



b\ Rostral broader than deep; frontal shorter than parietals; brown 



above with longitudinal series of black dots; a yellow spot on each 



side of neck C. mindorensls Boulenger (p. 190). 



a-. Mental not in contact with anterior chin shields; no loreal. 



b\ Diameter of eye much more than its distance from mouth; brown 

 above, with 2 longitudinal rows of dark spots on each side of a line 



of white dots- - C. everetti Boulenger (p. 191). 



b-. Diameter of eye less than half its distance from mouth; 2.50 ventrals; 

 dark brown above, with the 2 outer scale rows tipped with yel- 

 lowish; a yellow collar on neck; a pair of large pale lateral spots 



at base of tail.. - C. mearnsi Stejneger (p. 193). 



a\ Mental in contact with first chin shields; a loreal present; above, brown 

 with darker dots; a dark brown nuchal collar, edged with yellow 

 anteriorly and posteriorly; immaculate below. 



C. tropica sp. nov. (p. 194). 



CALAMARIA GRAYI Gunther 



Calavmria tjraui GiJNTHER, Cat. Col. Snakes (1858) 6; BoETTGER, 

 Ber. Senck. Nat. Ges. (1886) 105; BOULENGER, Cat. Snakes Brit. 



* Calamaria tropica has a loreal. — E. H. T. 



t Casto de Elera lists C. vermiformis and C. tcmmiiickii. These records 

 are probably erroneous. 



